Lou Henson (left) And John Macleod Are . . .

Coaches At The Crossroads

Irish Woes Raise Questions About Macleod's Tenure

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Big East was to be the cure-all for Notre Dame basketball, but so far it has been just another harsh measure of how far the program has to climb.

Coach John MacLeod is in the final season of a five-year contract, struggling with a sub-.500 record in his years at Notre Dame and trying to keep the Irish above the Big East cellar more than halfway through their first conference tour.

It is a program characterized by student apathy, mediocre athletes and losing seasons. And with the Irish at 2-9 in the conference, no quick turnaround is in sight.

More often than not, MacLeod's team has played with energy and enthusiasm. But it is clear the team is undermanned in one of the premier conferences in the nation.

"He's done a heck of a job coaching his material," said basketball talent scout Bob Gibbons. "His problem is with the inability to get the high-quality, highly sought-after black athletes."

Given the lack of success on MacLeod's watch, it's inevitable that the questions have started:

- Is MacLeod, 58, who spent 18 seasons as a pro coach, too far removed from today's youth to attract a star from the limited pool of top-notch players who can qualify academically at Notre Dame?

- In his fifth year of frustration, does he still want to try?

- If MacLeod wants to continue, how much longer will Rev. E. William Beauchamp, executive vice president of Notre Dame, and Athletic Director Mike Wadsworth give him to turn things around in the face of indications he is several years away?

MacLeod has faced all the questions this season with his trademark gentlemanliness, which belies the disappointment of the 61-73 record he has compiled at Notre Dame.

"I don't like the way we've gotten cracked in past years and I don't like where we are," MacLeod said. "It drives me nuts.

"But we are moving in the right direction, and we are working extremely hard."

With the firing of Paul Westphal at Phoenix and the interim placement of Suns executive Cotton Fitzsimmons as head coach there, speculation has surfaced that MacLeod may be in line for the NBA job at Phoenix, where he spent 14 seasons, or a front-office job in the NBA.

"There's speculation and rumors all the time," MacLeod said. "I'm not putting any feelers out to anybody. . . . I have a good job, and my focus right now is continuing to build this program."

For now, Beauchamp and Wadsworth said they do not intend to replace MacLeod, though they have made it clear they expect excellence from all the school's teams in Big East play.

"I wouldn't say there is a timetable," Beauchamp said. "This is our first year in the Big East. I think we're going to have to give it some time.

"I expect John MacLeod to be back here."

What ails Notre Dame's recruiting is a combination of its own success in football and maintaining academic standards that do not exist for athletes at most other schools.

MacLeod's group of freshmen is a solid, tough but starless class, led by playmaking point guard Doug Gottlieb, who grew up in the shadow of UCLA. He has a nifty court sense, but is only 6 feet tall with an unsteady shot.

Gary Bell, the Joliet product, was supposed to be the prize of this class, but he has been out with injuries and hasn't practiced for more than a month.

Furthermore, MacLeod missed on two big players in the November signing period.

The Irish were close on Jason Collier, a 7-foot center from Central Catholic High School in Springfield, Ohio. Then Collier visited Notre Dame during the weekend the Irish beat Texas 55-27 in football, and he realized it wasn't the place for him.

"Usually when I went on a visit to other schools, they'd take me to a football game, but that was really the whole weekend at Notre Dame," said Collier in a recent telephone interview. "I was kind of scared and not comfortable at Notre Dame. I just thought it was a football-oriented school."

"When I visited Indiana and walked around with the basketball players there, everyone knew who they were," he said. "Why take a chance on a program that needs to be turned around?"

T.J. Caouette of Maine, another big man who was in demand, speaks highly of Notre Dame and MacLeod's recruiting efforts, but chose Villanova because he wanted a school that offered "the best combination of basketball and academics."

The only recruit MacLeod has entering as a freshman next season is New Jersey's 6-8, 215-pound Todd Palmer. Scouting reports say he is fundamentally sound but "shows below-average athleticism."

That could spell deep trouble for Notre Dame, which will be without Ryan Hoover next season. Hoover, senior captain, is the only pure shooter MacLeod has and is one of only two scorers averaging in double figures, along with sophomore Pat Garrity.

If the Big East is to be the answer to what ails Notre Dame, it will take time. Al McGuire, former Marquette coach and TV analyst, said it also will take a change in thinking at Notre Dame.